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Child Birth and Child Legitimacy

Parents of an infant born in the Czech Republic must complete a number of administrative steps. The attached text “Child Birth and Child Legitimacy” contains information on both the necessary administrative steps and on the newlyborn’s residence status, as well as on the procedure necessary to register the infant for health insurance.

Contents

Notification Duty and the Parents‘ Obligations after the Child is Born
Determination of Parental Ties
Payment of Health Care Provided in Relation to the Child‘s Birth
Health Insurance of Foreigners‘ Children
Name and Surname of the Child

The whole text

Child Birth and Child Legitimacy

Parents of an infant born in the Czech Republic must complete a number of administrative steps. The attached text ”Child Birth and Child Legitimacy” contains information on both the necessary administrative steps and on the newlyborn’s residence status, as well as on the procedure necessary to register the infant for health insurance.

Notification Duty and the Parents‘ Obligations after the Child is Born

If a foreigner delivers a child in the Czech Republic, the notification duty must be fulfilled by the maternity hospital where the child was born. The maternity hospital will notify the child’s birth to the Registry Office (the registry department) competent in the district (or town) where the maternity hospital is located. The registrar will register the newly born with the Birth Registry, issue a Czech birth certificate (which will be later handed to you by the registrar) to the infant, and inform the Citizen Registry Department of the child’s birth.

In order to have the child’s birth certificate recognised by the state of origin (or by the state of the last permanent residence of the parents), the child’s parents must have the child’s birth certificate, once issued by the Registry Office, translated by an official internpreter into their mother tongueand have the birth certificate verified (by ”superlegalisation”; your embassy – see the address book – will inform you whether “superlegalisation” is necessary) by the city council.After that, the parents must address the diplomatic mission of their country (if your home state has not established an embassy – consular section in the Czech Republic, you must address the Czech Ministry of Foreign Afairs), in order to have the child entered in the parents‘ passports or to have the child’s passport issued. In addition, the parents must apply for the relevant visa (for the newly-born) at an office of the Alien Police (no later than within 60 days of the child’s birth!).

Note:

The period of 60 from the child’s birth is deemed extended if the application could not have been filed within this period for reasons independent of the foreigner’s will. The period is extended until the obstacles have been removed. The foreigner must inform the police of such reasons without undue delay (Section 88(4) of Act no.326/1999 Coll.).

The following must be attached to the application for the issue of a residence permit or the application to enter the newly born in the parents‘ visa:

the child’s passport; in case of a foreign legal guardian (parent), the child’s passport may be substituted by presenting the representative’s passport, in which the child has been entered,

the child’s birth certificate,

certificate of health insurance policy concluded for the whole period of the child’s residence in the Czech Republic; this does not apply if the payment of health care costs is arranged for in another way (Section 89 of Act no. 326/1999 Coll., on the Residence of Foreigners in the Czech Republic, as amended), e.g. by payments in cash.

The police will issue the visa in the child’s passport or in the passport of the child’s legal guardian, in which the child is entered; this does not apply if the newly-born leaves the Czech Republic. If an application for the issue of a residence permit is filed for the child, the newly born foreigner’s residence is considered temporary until the proceesings have been completed (Section 88(3) of Act no. 326/1999 Coll.).

Determination of Parental Ties

The woman having delivered the child is the child’s mother (Section 50(a) of Act no. 94/1963 Coll., on Family).

The father of the child is the mother’s husband, if the child is born in the period starting from the beginning of the marriage and ending upon the expiry of three hundred days after the end of the marriage or after the marriage was declared invalid (under Section 51(1) of Act no. 94/1963 Coll.).

Otherwise, the child’s father is the man whose fatherhood has been ascertained by a concerted declaration by the parents made before the Registry Office or a court (Section 52 (1) of Act no. 94/1963 Coll.). The man whose fatherhood has been determined by a concerted declaration of the parents may deny his fatherhood before a court, only if the possibility of him being the father is ruled out; the man may deny his fatherhood within six months of the day he was identified as the father. This period may not expire before the end of a six-month period following the child’s birth. The mother may also use this period to deny the fatherhood of the man whose parentshood has been determined by a concerted declaration of the parents (Section 61 (1) and (2) of Act no. 94/1963 Coll.).

If fatherhood has not been determined as described above, the man and the woman may apply for a court decision in this matter. In this case, the man who (demonstrably) had sexual intercourse with the child’s mother in the relevant time period is considered the child’s father.

For more information on this issue, see Act no. 94/1963 Coll., on Family, as amended (see the related links).

Payment of Health Care Provided in Relation to the Child‘s Birth

Having been admitted in a maternity hospital, the pregnant foreigner (without permanent residence in the Czech Republic) is required to pay a deposit to the maternity hospital (in order to cover the costs incurred in relation to the birth). If the mother has a long-term health insurance policy and was not pregnant at the time of the first medical examination, the costs of the delivery will be covered from the insurance policy. If the mother has a long-term health insurance policy and is pregnant at the time of the first medical examination, she will have to pay higher premiums (for more information, call the hotline of the Czech General Health Insurer (VZP ČR), tel: 221 752 175).

If the foreign mother has been granted permanent residence in the Czech Republic or is an asylum seeker or has been granted asylum or a tolerance visa, the maternity hospital will not require her to pay the deposit, as she is a policyholder within the system of public health insurance.

Health Insurance of Foreigners‘ Children

Children born to parents residing in the Czech Republic under a visa (in particular a long-term residence visa for over 90 days) are not policyholders within the Czech public health insurance schemes. Therefore, the parents must conclude a long-term health insurance policy with the Czech General Health Insurer (”Všeobecná zdravotní pojišťovna” - VZP). Your child will have to undergo a medical examination paid by the parents. Based on the results of this examination, the health insurer will arrange for a health insurance policy for your child and will calculate the premiums (the amount of premiums depends on the age and gender of the child). The health insurer will allocate a special number to your child (not a personal number) and issue a (green-coloured) policyholder’s card. The care taken of the child in the maternity hospital must be paid for in cash, as the health insurance policy will be concluded after the first medical exam.

Children born to parents residing in the Czech Republic for a temporary period of time, i.e. if the parents leave the Czech Republic with the infant within 60 of his/her birth, the child’s residence is considered temporary. The care taken of the child in the maternity hospital must be paid for in cash and the parents will have to conclude a health insurance policy with the Czech General Health Insurer (VZP) in respect of the child, unless they are policyholders of a foreign health insurance company (which covers the care and medical assistance provided in relation to the birth and care of a newlyborn).

In case a woman delivers a disabled child, she must file a residence permit application for her child for humanitarian reasons no later than within 60 of the birth. If the permit is granted, the child’s residence will be considered permanent as of his/her birth, and the insurer should cover all the health care provided.

Note:

You may conclude two types of health insurance policies with the health insurer: a short-term or a long-term health insurance policy. However, the health insurer will not insure an infant younger than one year of age for a short-term period! Therefore, an infant may be insured for a long-term period only. You are required to pay a 12-months advance payment for the insured child!

Can you conclude a health insurance policy in respect of an unborn child?

A child cannot be insured before he/she is born. You may conclude a health insurance policy after the child is born. However, if the first medical examination shows that the mother-foreigner is pregnant (and if the mother wants to conclude a long-term health insurance policy), the birth may be included in the health insurance coverage (therefore, the mother will pay higher insurance premium). For more information, call the Czech General Health Insurer hot-line, phone no: 221 752 175.

Prices of long-term health insurance of foreigners‘ children residing in the Czech Republic:

The monthly insurance premium for children aged 0-17 amounts to CZK 1,200 for boys (CZK 750 if all children in a family are insured) and to CZK 1,200 for girls (CZK 750 if all children in a family are insured).

The monthly insurance policy for policyholders aged 18-29 amounts to CZK 1,150 for men and CZK 1,350 for women.

Name and Surname of the Child

The child's first name(s) will be registered with the Registry Office according to the concerted declaration by the child's parents (the declaration may be made at the Registry Office or in the maternity hospital by filling-in a blank form). More than one first name may be given to a child not being a Czech citizen, born to non-Czech parents (pursuant to Section 18 of the Act on Registries).

A child not-being a Czech citizen, born to foreign nationals, will be given a surname agreed upon by both parents – wither the joint surname of the parents or the surname of one of the parents (if they have different surnames).

The surname of a newly-born girl must comply with the rules of Czech grammar (i.e., with the "-ová" suffix). If the parents want their baby to have a male-form surname (i.e., without the "-ová" suffix), they must file an application with the Registry Office. The Office must approve the application if the infant is a foreign national, a Czech citizen born to a non-Czech parent or if the infant is a Czech foreigner but does not have Czech nationality (under Section 69 of the Act on Registries).